FREE ROSARY OFFER: Rule of the Mother of God (Byzantine Rosary)

The Rule of the Mother of God (Byzantine Rosary) is the Marian Rosary in a form which is indigenous to the Byzantine East, especially the Russian Orthodox Church. In the Encyclopedia of Orthodoxy (Moscow 2003), the Russian Orthodox Church commends the Rule of the Mother of God (Rule) to all of the the Orthodox faithful. The daily praying of the Rule is a most appropriate and authentic devotion in the Byzantine spiritual tradition.

Here is a brief account of its history and significance:

“It is well known that Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1759 – 1833) prayed a form of the Rosary. Saint Seraphim’s Rule of the Mother of God consisted in one hundred and fifty repetitions of the Angelic Salutation, divided into fifteen decades. He said the Our Father only once at the beginning. The theotokion Open unto us the gate of compassion and a specific petition to Our Lady followed each decade. He ended his Rule with It is truly meet.”

Saint Seraphim maintained that this rule of prayer had been given by the Mother of God to a monk in the Thebaid of Egypt in the early eighth century. He also lamented that the Orthodox had forgotten about it. He taught all his spiritual children to pray the Rule, claiming that this prayer is more important for obtaining Our Lady’s protection than any other devotion in her honor, including akathists and canons. In his cell he kept a book in which he recorded the many miracles reported to him as a result of its practice.

A plan of meditations which embrace the whole life of the Mother of God was devised by Saint Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) of Dmitrov. He prayed the complete fifteen-decade Rule daily and encouraged all Christians to do likewise. Murdered by the Communists in 1937, he is a Holy New Hieromartyr of the Russian Church.

To help propagate this devotion, the Orthodox Catholic Monastery of Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow is offering a FREE ROSARY for simply paying the cost of shipping and handling. The rosary is constructed of cross-imprinted beads with a wooden Orthodox-style Cross. To obtain your free rosary, please click on the following link: FREE ROSARY

A copy of the Rule as prayed at the Poustinia and by the Seraphs of Saint Seraphim of Sarov can be found and downloaded at: RULE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

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